This invention relates to rigid tire liners, which are releaseably attached to the tire rims of automotive vehicles and the like to permit continued operation of a vehicle when one or more of its pneumatic tires fail or become flat; and more particularly this invention relates to two-piece safety tire liners having improved means for releaseably attaching the two cooperating sections thereof together.
In recent years worldwide terrorist activities have considerably heightened interest in securing for automotive tires some form of safety liner, which would permit continued operation a vehicle's wheel whenever the associated tire happened to fail and become flat. This problem is particularly acute in connection with modern-day tubeless tires, which have beaded edges that must remain in engagement with corresponding flanges on the associated tire rim in order to prevent leakage of air from the tire.
Regardless of the nature of the tire employed, several efforts have been made to provide a satisfactory safety tire liner. U.S. Pat. No. 2,040,645, for example, discloses the desirability of employing a two-piece liner of circular configuration, which is adapted to rotate relative to the rim upon tire failure. The two sections of the liner are circular in configuration, with each having a radial slot or opening to permit each circular section to be spread or forced open for the purpose of mounting the liner on a rim. U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,162 also teaches the desirability of employing a circular safety liner mountable on the outer periphery of a tire rim to be located relative thereto when the associated tire became flat, but this type of safety device requires a very special tire rim.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,288 also suggests using a two two-piece tire liner each of which sections is semi-circular in configuration, and which are attachable around the outside of a tire rim by releasable coupling means. This liner, however, was designed to be secured to the rim so that it could not rotate relative to the rim upon tire failure.
There are also a series of U.S. Pat. No. Re 28,196; U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,114 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,592 which also disclose two-piece safety liners which are disposed to rotate on a tire rim upon tire failure, but such liners utilize coupling means which are difficult to manufacture and manipulate, and also do not protect against bead failure during use.
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved safety liner of the type described which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easier to operate than prior such liners.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved safety liner which is formed in two, arcuate, generally semi-circular sections, the confronting ends of which are readily attached to and detached from each other by a novel eccentric-type coupling means.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved, two-piece safety liner of the type described which is particularly designed for use with a novel bead lock ring, which is interposed between the safety liner and the associated tire rim rotatably to support the liner in a predetermined axial position on the rim.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.